Some of the most exceptional guitar instruments line the walls of Atlanta Premier Guitars in their spacious shop in the Crossroads Shopping Plaza. Almost two and a half years old, Atlanta Premier Guitars is the one of the few places in the metro-Atlanta region that offers exceptional guitar lines such as McPhersons, Froggy Bottom, and Alvarez. Tommy Allen, the owner of Atlanta Premier Guitars, started off with a vintage collection of instruments as a teenager and slowly transitioned into making it a business.
"I sell some of the best guitars in the world," said Allen. Atlanta Premier Guitars in the only dealer of Froggy Bottoms, manufactured in Vermont, and McPhersons, manufactured in Sparta, Wisconsin. Only a hundred pieces of each of the two brands are made per year. Allen still deals a number of vintage instruments and also buys back vintage guitars and amplifiers.
Atlanta Premier Guitars also ships worldwide to countries like Italy, Germany and Australia, so business does not solely depend on local sales. Allen is also very passionate about his beginner level instruments, which he describes as "very well playing, well made and very affordable."
"An instrument has to be payable for someone to learn correctly," said Allen.
The shop also has two instructors who offer guitar lessons and approximately 30 to 50 students, Allen plans on having some community events, which will be open to the public.
Before moving into retail, Allen used to be a performer and worked with and met famous artists and musicians such as Tony Rice, Little Feet and Vince Gill and has sold guitars to Jackson Brown. In fact, famous flat-picker, Steve Kaufman, is going to hold a two-day workshop next year at Atlanta Premier Guitars, as well as a concert.
"I chose Conyers because I did not want to be in Atlanta, proper, but I wanted to be accessible to customers from Atlanta, because of the unique instruments that no one else sold," Allen said.
He said stores like his are something that are quickly fading. "People are lucky to have something like this, to still offer a service that is also available online that they can get."
